Support advancing apparatus for mines

ABSTRACT

An advancing support system which is adapted to follow the dip of a longwall in an underground mine operation, comprises an abutment made up of a plurality of individual beams which are arranged in end-to-end axial alignment along the length of the longwall, and which are pivotally connected together in a manner so that they may pivot substantially only in one plane, perpendicular to the footwall. A support unit is associated with each individual beam, and each support unit carries a piston and cylinder combination connected to the individual beam, for shifting the beam relative to the longwall.

[11] 3,890,793 June 24, 1975 United States Patent 1 Koppers et al.

1,226,778 3/1971 United Kingdom................. 61/45 D MINES [75] Inventors: Manfred Koppers; Friedhelm Kuhnapfel both Duisburg Primary Examiner.lacob Shapiro Germany Attorney, Agent, or FirmMcGlew and Tuttle Assignee: Rheinstahl AG,

Germany [57] ABSTRACT An advancing support system which is adapted to fol- [22] Filed: Sept. 27, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 510,064

low the dip of a longwall in an underground mine operation, comprises an abutment made up of a plurality of individual beams which are arranged in end-to-end [30]- Foreign Application Priority Data do d araou t H a ne wes m w m g OuH .mrh aam tmnp mt taA Ci.

ee lif hn a t y SO m g0 m a mmy hm mpmmmm w .w mwmm m h a e wm m mmm awt t acm v WW6 C t e o Umn MUN 555 to the longwall.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 3,691,775 9/1972 Holtrup et a1. 61/45 D PATENTEDJUN 24 I975 SHEET PATENTEDJUM24 1975 3 890.793

SHEET 2 y 1 SUPPORT ADVANCING APPARATUS FOR MINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates in general to apparatus for supporting walls in mines, and similar excavations and, in particular, toa new and useful advancing support system for following the dip of a longwall in an underground mine operation,-which includes a plurality of individual beams which are pivotally connected together in a manner such that they may pivot in a plane which is perpendicular to the footwall, and which are each associated with a support unit having means for shifting them relative to the footwall.

2. Description of the Prior Art The present invention is particularly concerned with apparatus for advancing support elements in underground mine workings. In such undertakings, a walking support, comprising a bottom piece and a hanging wall cap, which is pressed against the hanging wall by props resting on the bottom piece, are employed. In order to advance the hanging wall cap in the direction of the coal face while maintaining a residual pressure, and without causing an oblique position of the props, it has been known to provide piston and cylinder units in the end'portions of the bottom pieces and the caps facing the coal face which are connected to a beam-shaped abutment extending in each case along a group of at least three support units, and to shift the beam abutment by the piston and cylinder units. At the shifting of a support unit, the abutment beam is affixed in its position by the shifting cylinders of two other support units. It is disadvantageous that at the shifting of one support unit, a certain sequence must be observed in the switching of the group of three cylinders, and this sequence permanently changes depending on whether the first, second or third support unit of a group is to be shifted. In this known support system, the abutment beams are not coupled to each other. The lower beams are located between the bottom pieces of the support units and the longwall conveying device, but they are not in firm connection with the conveying device. Primarily, when the coal is extracted by means ofa planer, the reaction forces must be transmitted from the planer through the abutment beam to the shifting devices. In turn, the shifting devices'press against the longwall working machine through the abutment beam and against the coal face. The shifting devices must have some room for operation to prevent the planer from getting stuck, An abutment beam extending over three support units is an exceptionally bulky structure in the underground operating conditions, so that the transportation thereof becomes extremely expensive. In addition, the system is expensive to construct and complicated tocontrol and operate.

In another known walking support unit, two adjacent support trestlesare connected by their shifting cylinders to one abutment beam in order to permit a shifting in the direction of the coal face. The abutment beams are connected to each other by joints. If a group compr sing two support trestles is to be shifted, the respective piece of the abutment beam associated therewith is separated from the otherpieces which remain in-position. The abutment beam is advanced by extending the shifting cylinders of the two support units belonging to one group. The advanced piece of the abutment beam is then pivotally connected to those pieces which havebeen advanced previously, whereupon, the support units ofa group of two are alternately released, ad- ,vancedand then braced again between the hanging wall and the footwall. The reaction forces are transmitted from the respective piece of the abutment beam whichisshifted to the ones which have already been shifted, This walking support also requires a complicated control system and, in addition, it has a great disadvantage in that the beam pieces must be disconnected and reinstalled by coupling them to each other and this is very expensive under underground conditions. In any case, the respective beam piece must be shifted and aligned by means of a fluid pressure operated cylinder and piston unit with great care in order to maintain alignment of the bores of the joints which are to receive securing bolts when they are'repositioned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, an abutment beam is assembled ofa plurality of individual abutment beam members, and it extends along the entire length of the longwall. Each. of the beam members is associated with one support unit and the individual beam members are pivoted together in a manner such that they may pivot substantially only in one plane which is perpendicular to the footwal'l' -and to the advance direction.

With the invention, the abutment beam is applied against a longwall conveying device and retained in its position by shifting devices which, for example, may be piston and cylinder units, carried by the support units. The shifting devices elastically absorb the reaction pressure of the extraction machine, for example, a coal planer. The shifting device of the support unit to be shifted is switched to traction and during the shifting, two or more of the adjacent shifting devices at both sides are stopped in their position by a simultaneous closing of their valves in the pressure fluid conduits.

In accordancewith a further development of the invention, the beam members of the abutment beam are formed withforked end portions. A link bar extends between the adjacent forked end portions of adjacent beams and pivotally connects the adjacent beam members together, The forked ends include spaced apart legs between which the link bar is inserted, and a securing bolt is passed=through the legs and the link bar to hold them in position. The link bars are advantageously made of a heat-treated material. In order to prevent the legs of the beam members from bending apart, the legs are connected to .each other by a metal sheet which is welded to the side facing the footwall.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the reinforcing metal sheet may be formed with a swivel eye at the filling side and pivotally connected to a beam which is provided between every two adjacent support units.

The shifting device of a support unit acts on the center portion of the respective beam member of the abutment beam and is located between the connecting joints of the individual beam members. There is a particular advantage in respect to the absorption of reaction forces if the abutment beam is effective as an integral structure extending over the entire length of the longwall both during the advancing of the conveyor and the subsequent pulling of the supports. The beam, nevertheless, can adapt to the irregularities of the footwall in the dip. Once the abutment beam is installed, it

need not be disassembled into individual abutment beam elements again during the operation or need it be reassembled. Any of the support units can beshifted and during the shifting which may be effected ina very simple manner by switching the respective shifting cylinder to traction, the spaces before and after the pistons of the shifting devices of the adjacent support units are closed so that the respective pistons become fixed and the adjacent support units braced between the hanging wall and the footwall and absorb the reaction forces of the advance support unit.

Since the beam members of the abutment beam apply against the side of the-longwall conveyor, those of the beam members which are held in their position cannot swing about their fixed points even through aside from the intended flexibility perpendicular to the footwall, the joints of the beam members have a certain play which is parallel to the footwall. In view of the short length of the members of the abutment beam, they may be transported without any difficulty. The reinforced forked end portions of the individual beam elements and the use of a high quality material for the link bars result in a sure absorption of the reaction forces without the necessity of having heat-treated beam members. The horizontal beam members which are positioned perpendicular to the abutment beam and affixed thereto serve as spacers between two adjacent support units and secure the abutment beam against slipping along the beam. The inventive support is also suitable for being used in sloping seams. In this case, it is irrelevant if the support units are designed as I roof supports or as shielding supports.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an advancing support system which is to follow the dip of a longwall for underground mine operations, and which comprises an abutment beam made up of a plurality of individual beam elements arranged in end-toend axial alignment along the length of the longwall and connected by link elements so that they may pivot substantially only in one plane perpendicular to the footwall and which are each associated with a support unit having a drive means associated therewith for selectively shifting the beams relative to the longwall.

A further object of the invention is to provide an advancing support system for underground mine operations which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an advancing support sys: tem for underground mines constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along the lines IIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein, comprises an advancing support system for following the dip of a longwall which includes a plurality of support units 3, 31, 32, 33, 34, etc., which are arranged in a row and in spaced relationship. The support units 3, 31-34, may be designed as roof supports or shields.

In accordance with the invention, an abutment beam 4 made up of a plurality of individual abutment beam units 41, 42, 43, 44, etc., are placed between the support units and a longwall conveyor 2, and it is made up of a length to extend over the entire length of the longwall 1. Each support unit, 3, 31 to 34, is associated with one beam member 41 to 44. The individual beam members or elements 41 to 44 are interconnected by connecting means at a connecting joint 5 in a manner such that all of the individual beam elements together form a sort of a chain.

Joints 5 are made up of connecting links 7 which engages between spaced apart leg portions 6 and 6' of the forked ends of the individual beams. In order to permit the abutment beam to adapt to the irregularities of the footwall and the longwall conveyor, the link bars 7 are pivoted to the legs 6 by means of bolts 8 which extend through bores 7a of link bar 7. The bores 7a are tapered inwardly to a central uniform diameter bore portion and they permit pivoting of the individual beam members substantially in a plane which is perpendicular to the footwall and extends in the dipping direction. A limited transverse flexibility is also provided in order to permit an adaptation to a curved conveying track.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, legs 6 of each abutment beam element 4, 41 to 44 are connected to each other by metal sheets 91 which are welded thereon so that they are secured against bending apart. The link bars 7 are made of high quality material. It is not necessary to heat-treat the entire beam member.

In the example illustrated, each support unit 3, 31 to 34, etc., is provided with a shifting device or drive means 10 in the form of a fluid pressure operated piston and cylinder combination comprising a cylinder 11 with a piston slidable therein (not shown) which includes a piston rod 11' which is connected to a respective beam member 4, 41 to 44 in the center portion thereof through a connecting piece 12.

.One reinforcement sheet 91, as shown in FIG. 3, of each support unit is formed at the filling side with an extension provided with a swivel eye or bore 13 and it is pivoted to a counterplate 50 by a bolt 14 which extends through the bore 13 and a bore 52 of plate 50. Plate 50 is carried on a spacer beam 15 which is located between adjacent support units and which extends fromthe abutment beam 4 in the filling direction. Beams 15, which are located between the adjacent support units3, 31, etc., hold the support units in spaced location and, at the same time, they fix the abutment beam against slipping in the clipping direction.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Starting from a condition in which the support units 3, 31, etc., have already been advanced to the abutment beam 4, the longwall conveyor 2 and the support unit 32 may be shifted the direction of the arrow B. Shiftingdevice 10 of support unit 32 is switched to traction and. simultaneously. the valves in the supply conduits for the spaces before and after the pistons of the shifting devices 10, in the adjacent support units 31 and 33 are closed. Thereby. beam members 41 and 43 are held applied against the side of the longwall conveyor 2. The reaction force of shifting device of support unit 32 is transmitted through beam member 42 to beam members 41, 43. by means ofjoints 5. Since shifting devices 10 of support units 31 and 33 cannot yield and, on the other side, beam members 41 and 43 rest against conveyor 2, the abutment beam 4, aside from a small play in the horizontal plane, cannot give way,

so that the shifting is carried out as desired. Aside from the immediately adjacent support units, further neighboring units may also participate in the pressure force transmission. In order to be able to also shift the support units located at the entrance and exit of the workings in the same manner, the extremities of the abutment beam 4, that is, the end portions of the respective beam members, are fixed by auxiliary props.

It is evident that support units 3, 31-34 can be shifted at any location of the longwall without changing anything in the assembly of the abutment beam 4. The relatively short beam members 41 to 44 may be easily transported. When it becomes necessary to replace a beam member or a link bar, this can be effected in a most simple manner. The link bars 7 can be removed from the joint of the beam members upwardly.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. An advancing support system for following the dip of a longwall in an underground mine operation, com-' prising an abutment beam made up of a plurality of individual beam elements arranged in end-to-end axial alignment along the length of the longwall, connecting means pivotally connecting adjacent individual beams together so that they may pivot substantially only in one plane perpendicular to the footwall, a support unit alongside each individual beam element, and means associated with each support unit connected to respective ones of said individual beams for selectively shifting them relative to said longwall.

2. An advancing support system, according to claim 1, wherein said shifting means comprises a fluid pressure operated piston and cylinder unit which may elastically absorb the backthrust acting on said individual beam elements, said elements being operable to effect a traction on said individual beam elements for shifting purposes.

3. An advancing support system, according to claim 1, wherein said connecting means includes a fork formation at each end of said individual abutment beam elements including spaced apart leg elements, and a link bar extending between the leg elements of adjacent individual abutment beam elements, and a securing bolt passed through said link bar and said legs.

4. An advancing support system, according to claim 3, wherein said link bar is made of a heat-treated material.

5. An advancing support system, according to claim 3, including a metal sheet connecting the leg portions of each metal beam together at their side facing the footwall, said metal sheet being welded thereto so that the legs are reinforced against bending apart.

6. An advancing support system, according to claim 5, wherein said metal sheet includes a bore therethrough, a spacer beam located between adjacent support units having a plate thereon with a bore therethrough, and a bolt interconnected through said metal sheet and said plate of said spacer beam.

7. An advancing support system, according to claim 6, wherein said shifting means comprises a fluid pressure operated piston and cylinder unit centrally connected between said support units and the center of the individual associated beam element. 

1. An advancing support system for following the dip of a longwall in an underground mine operation, comprising an abutment beam made up of a plurality of individual beam elements arranged in end-to-end axial alignment along the length of the longwall, connecting means pivotally connecting adjacent individual beams together so that they may pivot substantially only in one plane perpendicular to the footwall, a support unit alongside each individual beam element, and means associated with each support unit connected to respective ones of said individual beams for selectively shifting them relative to said longwall.
 2. An advancing support system, according to claim 1, wherein said shifting means comprises a fluid pressure operated piston and cylinder unit which may elastically absorb the backthrust acting on said individual beam elements, said elements being operable to effect a traction on said individual beam elements for shifting purposes.
 3. An advancing support system, according to claim 1, wherein said connecting means includes a fork formation at each end of said individual abutment beam elements including spaced apart leg elements, and a link bar extending between the leg elements of adjacent individual abutment beam elements, and a securing bolt passed through said link bar and said legs.
 4. An advancing support system, according to claim 3, wherein said link bar is made of a heat-treated material.
 5. An advancing support system, according to claim 3, including a metal sheet connecting the leg portions of each metal beam together at their side facing the footwall, said metal sheet being welded thereto so that the legs are reinforced against bending apart.
 6. An advancing support system, according to claim 5, wherein said metal sheet includes a bore therethrough, a spacer beam located between adjacent support units having a plate thereon with a bore therethrough, and a bolt interconnected through said metal sheet and said plate of said spacer beam.
 7. An advancing support system, according to claim 6, wherein said shifting means comprises a fluid pressure operated piston and cylinder unit centrally connected between said support units and the center of the individual associated beam element. 